Primary school banding to come to Wales this autumn

THE education minister has confirmed today that the controversial banding system for Wales' secondary schools will be revised this year, and a similar system for primary schools will come into effect in the autumn.

In a statement released this morning, Huw Lewis AM said planned reviews of the secondary school banding model and the development of a primary school grading model are underway.

"The measures included in the current secondary school banding model are being reviewed to ensure that the model continues to align with our priorities for education in Wales, in particular with a focus on reducing the impact of deprivation on attainment," he said.

As predicted by unions, a primary school grading model is also being developed, the minister said, to help better identify schools most in need of support.

"It will give parents across Wales a clear picture of how schools are performing," he said.

Both the review of secondary school banding, and the development of a primary school grading model, will be considered alongside the National Categorisation System developed by regional consortia for schools, he said, which in South East Wales is the Education Achievement Service (EAS).

The EAS has its own categorisation system which gives schools colour codes according to how much support they need to improve.

A revised secondary school banding model and a new primary school model will be introduced this autumn.